The LVN/LPN is a nurse that upholds the highest standards of responsibilities for all patients in their care. The term LVN or licensed vocational nurse is specific to nursing in the state of California. The career has become very popular, especially in today’s economy, due to it being a very interesting and rewarding career. Being that healthcare is a field that is always in demand and growing, makes nursing programs all the more popular. LVN’s are responsible for knowing the Nurse Practice Act, which is a law in all states that controls the practice of nursing.

What they do is monitor and observe, devise plans to implement good nursing care, which would also include documentation and communicating with doctors as well as the patients and their families. Assessing situations that the patient is going through is principle, especially when it has to do with the management of pain. With using scaling methods, as in 0-10 pain thresholds, they can quickly decipher and administer the correct pain dosages to help the patient with their comfort levels.

Many of their responsibilities and duties can be within a hospital or private clinic where they tend to the wellbeing of assigned patients. Some of these duties could include the care and feeding of these patients, but as in each facility, duties can vary.

There are more work environments who have begun employing LVN’s such as:

When exploring the numerous nursing programs offered today one can become overwhelmed as to where to go, fees involved, how long it takes to finish with a certification of degree. One of the main factors for anyone interested in a training program is that it should be an accredited program, due to the fact that the accredited schools must adhere to rigid guidelines in their course materials, quality of the education and their instructors.

One good advantage of the training program is that they typically take about 12 months to complete the program when one is enrolled full time. Many of the schools, which could be the local community colleges or one of the medical vocational schools, also offer the accelerated plan as well as a slower plan, which could be completed in 24 months.

It is truly up to the individual student as to the methods that provide their training and education, whether it is in a full classroom environment with other participants, or learning online. Some schools can even have the option of offering online or offline courses, which is very convenient to many who are just not sure of which way to go. One additional benefit to the certification program is that if one decides to further their career goals to become a registered nurse, much of their learning has been satisfied, and in turn their nursing program would be less time to invest, usually only involving an additional 8-12 months of education.

Salary

One of the best positions to be in with a type of career is having a certain amount of job security. Knowing that the healthcare field is on the rise with our aging population, clearly shows us that all aspects of the nursing field are continuing to be very much in high demand. At these times, in our economy, there is even a shortage of nurses, which we may continue to see for quite some time.

Being that most nursing positions have been unionized, which means that the fair labor unions have negotiated good pay and benefits for their nurses of all degrees, allows us to know and feel confident that we will be earning a good and competitive salary for our hard work. Salaries around the country can vary this career, but typically one can expect to earn somewhere between $35,000 to $50,000 annually. Those that find employment in the nursing care facilities can usually make the higher end of the salary spectrum. Of course, as with any career, when one pursued to invest in a higher educational degree, as the RN program, salaries are bound to increase as well.